Ring rolling apparatus with four rolls

ABSTRACT

The specification describes a ring rolling apparatus with a pair of rollers for rolling the cylindrical faces of a ring and with a pair of conical upsetting rolls for rolling the radial ring faces. The pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacement of a feeler roller sensing this diameter. The sensing roll and the upsetting stand are respectively connected with an actual value indicating means which determines the position of the ring in relation to the upsetting stand and the position of the upsetting stand in relation to the roll stand. The output signals of the actual value indicating means are arranged to be supplied to a switching means, which is connected with a target value indicating means and, when the actual and target value correspond, is arranged to actuate a relay for taking off the roll pressure.

Wieting et 31.

United States Patent [191' 1111' 3,709,011 [451 Jan.9, 1973 [541 RING ROLLING APPARATUS WITH FOUR ROLLS [75] Inventors: Edgen Wieting', l-latnrn; Hans Siepmahn, Rhynern-Osttu'nnen, both of Germany [73] Assignee: J. Banning Aktiengesellschaft,

Hamm Westfalen, Germany [22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 90,726

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 5, 1969 Germany ..P 19 61 260.3

52 U.S.Cl.. ...........'...72/10, 72/87 [51'] Int. Cl. ..B2lb 5/00 [58] Field of Search ..72/10, 87

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,186,202 6/1965 Ulrych .f "72/10 3,l72,311 3/1965 Kendall... I ....72/ 86 2,636,406 4/1953 Salter 72/111 3,045,516 7/1962 Ashton et al. .I72/l06 3,035,463 5/1962 Stalkertal. ..72/86 Primary Examiner-Richard J. Herbst Attorney-Malcolm W. Fraser 57 ABSTRACT The specification describes a ring rolling apparatus with a pair of rollers for rolling the cylindrical faces of a ring and with a pair of conical upsetting rolls for rolling the radial ring faces. The pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacement of a feeler roller sensing this diameter. The sensing. roll and the upsetting stand are respectively connected with an actual value indicating means which determines the position of the ring in relation to the upsetting standand the position of the upsetting stand in relation to the roll stand. The output signals of the actual value indicating means are arranged to. be supplied to a switching means, which is connected with a target value indicating'means and, when the actual and target value correspond, is arranged to actuate a relay for taking off the roll pressure.

8 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure PATENTEDJAH 9 I975 INVENTORS Law RING ROLLING APPARATUS WITH FOUR ROLLS BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1 Field to Which Invention Relates The invention relates to ring rolling apparatus with four rolls and more particularly to such apparatus comprising a roll stand with a pair of rolls for rolling two curved ring faces, and an upsetting stand comprising a pair of upsetting rolls which are adapted to roll the radial ring faces and can be displaced radially with respect to the ring, in which one roll of each pair of mi lers can be moved towards the other to change the radial spacing between them, at least one roll is adapted to be driven and the pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacement of a feeler roller sensing this diameter at a position adjacent to the pair of upsetting rolls so that the pair of upsetting rolls always acts on the radial face of the ring.

2. The Prior Art In accordance with a previously made proposal a limit switch which could be set with the help of a scale in accordance with the diameter of the finished ring, was to be arranged adjacent to the roll stand and the limit switch so that when the ring had nearly achieved the target diameter the rolling pressure was taken of. However, such an installation would not work very satisfactorily because owing to the error signal occurring during regulation of the relative position and the abrupt taking off of the rolling pressure there is normally a difference between the actual value and the target value as regards the diameter and roundness.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION One object of the present invention is to shorten substantially the setting up time for such an apparatus when the rolling program is changed owing to the necessity of setting the limit switch. A further object of the invention is to make an'exact approach to the required target diameter so that subsequent rolling is generally not necessary.

The present invention consists in a ring rolling apparatus with four rolls, comprising a roll stand with a pair of rolls for rolling two curved ring faces, and an upsetting stand comprising a pair of upsetting rolls which are adapted to roll the radial ring faces and can be displaced radially with respect to the ring, in which one roll of each pair of rollers can be moved towards the other to change the radial spacing between them, at least one roll is adapted to be driven and the pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacement of a feeler roller sensing this diameter at a position adjacent to the pair of upsetting rolls so that the pair of upsetting rolls alwaysacts on the radial face of the ring, and furthermore the sensing roll and the upsetting stand are respectively connected with an actual value indicating means which determines the position of the ring in relation to the upsetting stand and the position of the upsetting stand in relation to the roll stand; the output signals of the actual value indicating means being arranged to be supplied to a switching means, which is connected with a target value indicating means and, when the actual and target value correspond,is; ar-

ranged to actuate a relay for taking off the roll pressure.

In accordance with a preferred feature of the inven tion the ring rolling apparatus furthermore comprises a" further target value indicating means connected with the switch means in order to correct any wear of the rolls, including any wear of the sensing roll.

Inaccordance with a further feature of the invention LIST OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWING The accompanying drawing shows in a single FIGURE a ring rolling apparatus in side view in accordance with the invention. In the drawing the control apparatus is shown schematically.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED-EM BODIMENTS The rolling apparatus comprises the horizontal rolling stand A and the vertical upsetting stand B. In the rolling mechanism frame 1 common to the two stands theking shaft 2 with the plate roll 3 is journalled and is driven via transmission gearing 4 by an electric motor 5. Opposite the plate roll 3 there is a hydraulically driven slide 6 or carriage, which can be moved towards the plate roll 3. A roll mandril 7 isjournalled on the slide 6. The mandril is supported at its upper end by a holding means 8 in the form of a frame which can be swung upwards and downwards hydraulically. At a position adjacent to the plate roll 3 there are the guide rolls 9, 10, which can be turned about shafts ll, 12 by a hydraulic cylinder and thus moved apart. They can be moved towards the ring R to be rolled. The double reference numerals 9, l0 and ll, 12 indicate that on the other side of the plate roll 3 the same arrangement of the guide roll with the shaft is to be found as can be seen from the side view. On the other side of the rolling mandril 7 the upsetting stand B is mounted on the rolling mechanism frame 1 in slideways. The displacement of this upsetting stand is carried out by the double-acting hydraulic cylinder 13. In the bottom part of the upsetting stand B the lower upsetting roll 14 is journalled and has the form of a conical roll. It is driven by a fixed ratio drive 15, connected for example with a DC drive motor 16. The drive or gearing l5 and the motor are so constructed that the speed of rotation of the conical roll 14 can be regulated in such a manner that the peripheral speed of this conical roll can be matched steplessly in accordance with the rolling speed of the plate roll 3 over the whole length of the conical envelope.

The upper upsetting roll, again in the form of a conical roll 17, is mounted in a slide 18 or carriage so that it can be displaced vertically. The slide 18 can be set in the axial direction of the ring to be rolled via a worm transmission 19, driven by a motor which is not shown in detail in the drawing, and a lead screw drive 20.-ln addition to this setting mechanism there is also the possibility of lowering the slide 18 hydraulically, for example for approximately 50 mm, in order to apply a force acting on the ring to .be rolled in the axial direction of the ring.

Between the conical rolls 14, 17, the feeling roll 21 is mounted. It is attached to a toothed rack, which is pressed by a hydraulic piston acted upon by a constant liquid pressure, into its front limit position with a constant force. The ring R whose diameter increases during the course of rolling presses the sensing rolls towards the parts of large diameter of the conical rolls 14 and 17.

This sensing or feeling roll 21 is connected with a means 44 providing an actual value so that the position of the ring R in relationto the upsetting stand B is determined. The upsetting stand B is connected with an actual value indicating means 45, which monitors the. position of the upsetting stand B in relation to the main frame 1 and thus in relation to the plate roll 3. The output signals of the two actual value indicating means 44 and 45 are supplied to the electrical means 48 in which signals of two target value indicating means 46 and 47 are also received. The target value indicating means 46 serves for example for feeding the desired finished diameter of the ring. The target valueindicating 47 serves for checking the means 48 when wear or a trueing up operation has led to a change in the diameter of theplate roll 3 or the sensing roll 21. The actual value indicating means can be in the form of conventional devices which are available as commercial products.

The means 48 makes a continuous comparison between the sum of the two actual values as provided by the actual value indicating means 44, 45, and the sum of the settarget values of the target value indicating means 46 and 47 and supplies an electrical signal or magnitude dependent upon this comparison to the measuring device 4.

The range of the electrical signals or magnitudes to be provided by the means 48, for example voltages, is so selected that when there are deviations between the target and actual values exceeding a certain value, for

50. Furthermore a signal lamp or a horn can be switched on in order to provide an optical or acoustic indication that the desired final dimension has been reached."

' Owing to the indication of the instrument 49 the person operating the rolling installation is in a position to reduce the rolling pressure,.in accordance with the differ'ence' between the actual and target values which becomes smaller and smaller, that the rolling operation is not abruptly interrupted. The result is a high degree of'accurscy, roundness and little variations between the dimensions of successively produced rings, that'is to say it is easy to produce a ring with the desireddimensions.- The device 48 can be of an analog or digital construction. Furthermore for automating adaptation of the rolling pressure to the departure or deviation between the actual and target values, which become Smaller and smaller, can be made possible by the use of a suitable computing device.

We claim 1. In a ring rolling apparatus with four rolls, comprising a roll stand with a pair of rolls for rolling two curved ring faces, and an upsetting stand comprising a pair of upsetting rolls which are adapted to roll the radial ring faces and can be displaced radially with respect to the ring, in which one roll of each pair of rollers can be moved towards the other to change the radial spacing between them, at least one roll is adapted to be driven and the pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacestand in relation to the roll stand, the sensing roll and v the upsetting stand being respectively connected with the actual value indicating means, a switching means, means connecting switching means with the actual value indicating means for supply of output signals from the latter to the switching means, a target value indicating means which is connected with the switching means, and a relay, for taking off the roll pressure, adapted to be actuated when the actual and target values correspond.

2. The structure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a further target valuev indicating means connected with the switch means in order to correct any wear of the rolls including any wear of the feeler roll.

3. The structure asset forth in claim 1 comprising an indicating means with a pointer, the indicating means being adapted to be supplied with signals from the switching means so that the pointer gradually approaches a zero position, corresponding to the deviation between the actual and target values from a maximum value, during the course of rolling.

4. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for the atten;

tion of an operator when the target value is reached,

the signalling device being coupled with the indicating device.

5. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for theattentionof anoperator when'the target value is reached, the signalling device being coupled with the switching relay.

6. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for the attention of an operator when the rolling pressure is taken off, the signalling device being coupled with the switching relay.

7. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a computing device for. automating matching of the rolling pressure to the diminishing deviation between the actual and target values of the ring during the course of rolling.

8. A ring rolling apparatus having four rolls comprising:

vG. means for sensing the distance between the upsetting stand and the plate roll,

H. means for converting said distance to a second signal proportional in magnitude to the distance,

. means for producing a third signal proportional to the target distance between the outer periphery of the ring and the upsetting stand,

.1. means for producing a fourth signal proportional to the target distance between the upsetting stand and the plate roll, comparator means comprising:

K. means for adding the first signal to the second signal to produce a first sum,

L. means for adding the third signal to the fourth signal to produce a sum,

M. means for comparing the first sum and the second sum to produce a difference,

N. means for visually displaying the difference.- 

1. In a ring rolling apparatus with four rolls, comprising a roll stand with a pair of rolls for rolling two curved ring faces, and an upsetting stand comprising a pair of uPsetting rolls which are adapted to roll the radial ring faces and can be displaced radially with respect to the ring, in which one roll of each pair of rollers can be moved towards the other to change the radial spacing between them, at least one roll is adapted to be driven and the pair of upsetting rolls is arranged to be displaced automatically in accordance with the increase in size of the outer ring diameter owing to the displacement of a feeler roller sensing this diameter at a position adjacent to the pair of upsetting rolls so that that the pair of upsetting rolls always acts on the radial face of the ring, the invention which resides in that the apparatus comprises an actual value indicating means adapted to determine the position of the ring in relation to the upsetting stand and a position of the upsetting stand in relation to the roll stand, the sensing roll and the upsetting stand being respectively connected with the actual value indicating means, a switching means, means connecting switching means with the actual value indicating means for supply of output signals from the latter to the switching means, a target value indicating means which is connected with the switching means, and a relay, for taking off the roll pressure, adapted to be actuated when the actual and target values correspond.
 2. The structure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a further target value indicating means connected with the switch means in order to correct any wear of the rolls including any wear of the feeler roll.
 3. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising an indicating means with a pointer, the indicating means being adapted to be supplied with signals from the switching means so that the pointer gradually approaches a zero position, corresponding to the deviation between the actual and target values from a maximum value, during the course of rolling.
 4. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for the attention of an operator when the target value is reached, the signalling device being coupled with the indicating device.
 5. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for the attention of an operator when the target value is reached, the signalling device being coupled with the switching relay.
 6. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a signalling device adapted to give a signal for the attention of an operator when the rolling pressure is taken off, the signalling device being coupled with the switching relay.
 7. The structure as set forth in claim 1 comprising a computing device for automating matching of the rolling pressure to the diminishing deviation between the actual and target values of the ring during the course of rolling.
 8. A ring rolling apparatus having four rolls comprising: A. a frame, B. a plate roll journaled in the frame, C. an upsetting stand slidably mounted on the frame, D. means for expansively rolling a ring against the plate roll, E. means for sensing the distance between the outer periphery of the ring and the upsetting stand, F. means for converting said distance to a first signal proportional to the distance, G. means for sensing the distance between the upsetting stand and the plate roll, H. means for converting said distance to a second signal proportional in magnitude to the distance, I. means for producing a third signal proportional to the target distance between the outer periphery of the ring and the upsetting stand, J. means for producing a fourth signal proportional to the target distance between the upsetting stand and the plate roll, comparator means comprising: K. means for adding the first signal to the second signal to produce a first sum, L. means for adding the third signal to the fourth signal to produce a sum, M. means for comparing the first sum and the second sum to produce a difference, N. mEans for visually displaying the difference. 